Staple Gun's
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Manual- Used for light duty applications, light DIY and repair uses. They are great for craft projects or light commercial use. The downside is that continued use can be painful and fatiguing. One big advantage is that they are very light and portable. They fire a variety of staple sizes but the harder the material or the larger the staple the less capable they are.

Pneumaticstaple guns - ​These use compressed air to fire staples into your material. They are more powerful than manual staplers and more capable for larger projects. They can also fire larger staples with ease.

Poweredstaple guns are more expensive than a manual stapler. They are more powerful, less fatiguing and don't need a compressor with an airline. A better option for light professional and heavy DIY use and some also fire brad nails.

Flooring Nail Gun's
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Flooring nailers use either Nails or Staples.Nails are also known as cleats in fact flooring nailers are often referred to as cleat nailers.

Fasteners fire at an angle, deep into the corner of the tongue and through into the sub floor.

Boards attach to the floor forced against each other.

Fastener heads should sink out of the way of the next board.

You can buy manual, or pneumatic flooring nail guns. The choice is a personal preference.The same advantages and disadvantages apply.Physical effort makes a manual gun less than ideal for large floors or regular use. There are advantages though.

Manual guns are lighter, easier to transport and faster to set up.

A pneumatic flooring nailer will need a compressor and an air hose.

Once you're set up, you get to complete your work faster and with ease.

Pros and Cons of Cleats vs Staples

Cleatsare like nails with either an L or T shaped head. They won't grip the board as well as they do the subfloor which is a good thing.

They have a sharp tip, a rigid body and a smooth shank to allow for seasonal movement. Cleats are available in 15, 16, 18 or 20 gauge and a variety of lengths to suit each application.

Stapleshold well but wont allow the flooring to adjust as well for seasonal movement. They can crack the tongue as they pin the board in place. Creaking floorboards are often attributed to use of Staples rather than nails.

​The upside is that staples are cheaper.

They are available in 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" crown sizes and a variety of lengths to suit your board thickness and subfloor.

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The first one I bought was a cordless 18 gauge brad nail gun. It fires nails from 1/2" to 2" long and they have a head so they hold the wood in place fairly well. The downside is that they leave a noticeable hole where the head sinks into the wood so I picked up a cordless pin nail gun today (as luck would have it).

The right answer to your question though is that it depends what you plan to use it for. If you're building a house and doing some framing don't buy a brad nailer and think it'll do what you need, it wont. If however you make furniture or gifts out of your garage on a weekend, buy a brad nail gun first. The truth is, most nail guns can do the job of smaller and bigger nail guns, they just don't do it as well. If you have a chance, read the article and if you have any questions let me know. Hope that helps.